A Review of the Status of Indexing Audio-Visual Resources in Archival Centers of Tehran and its Efficiency from the Perspective of its Users

The main purpose of the present research is to investigate the status of indexing of audio-visual materials in archival centers of Tehran, and to review the efficiency of this indexing from the perspective of its users. Methodology / Approach: This research is an analytical survey study, and the universe of study consists of the following two groups: the indexers of audio- visual archival centers of Tehran, selected by census method and totaling 55 people, and the users, comprising 71 people who referred to these centers during one month. For data collection, s eparate questionnaires were used for indexers and users. Finally, the obtained results were analyzed with the help of d escriptive and inferential statistics and SPPSS s oftware. This study shows that more than half of the indexers are familiar with indexing principles at a desirable level, b ut the indexers ' familiarity with terminology and the specialized language of users is less than expected. Also, it shows that the standardization tools do not fully meet the needs of indexers. Users expect an enhancement in the search capabilities of available software and more compatibility of i ndexes with the terminologies that they use. According to this study, there is no significant difference between the viewpoint of indexers and users in using the indexes in different centers. The first research hypothesis, that there was a significant difference in the average use of indexes among the studied centers, was not confirmed. The second research hypothesis, that there is a difference between users’ and indexers’ view about the efficiency of indexes, is confirmed. That is, t here is a meaningful relationship b etween the quality of i ndexing of audio - visual resources in a rchival centers and the efficiency of these services from the user's perspective. The better the indexing, the more efficient the experience is f rom the u sers’ perspective. There are some problems in the process of i ndexing audio- visual resources ranging from lack of proper tools for indexing, to l ack of written policies and a mismatch between workload and human resources, which have caused some shortcomings in the quality of indexes.